1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electro-surgical instrument having at one end a cutting electrode activated by a high frequency current source and specifically designed for cutting a core of gingiva precedent to implantation of a dental post.
2. The Related Art
The general art of electro-surgery has been practiced for most of this century. Therein a very high frequency but relatively low voltage current, i.e. radio frequency, has been harnessed for surgical cutting purposes. Usually, the patient is adapted to be electrically connected with one terminal of a high frequency current source while the scalpel is connected to an active electrode and serves as the opposite terminal. The high frequency current, when applied to the patient's tissue, induces a localized overheating. Colloidal matter is thereby caused to precipitate from the tissue cells. This surgery does not burn but rather sears the tissue to an extent sufficient to prevent bleeding. Hence, the procedure often has been termed "bloodless surgery".
Different areas of the human body represent different surgical challenges. Uniquely configured instruments are often necessary to meet these challenges. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 1,930,214 (Wappler) describes a surgical electrode for use in combination with an endoscopic tube within interior areas of a body cavity. The electrode is in the form of a pair of conducting wire diverging from the forward end of a handle. An operative conductive loop, which performs the cutting, extends from the pair of diverging wires and defines a plane substantially transverse to the axis of the handle. U.S. Pat. No. 1,963,636 (Wappler) discloses a further improvement of this technology wherein the loop is movable by a guiding or camming device relative to the endoscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,919,543 (Doane) is concerned with an improved method of removing tonsillar tissue. Instead of grounding the patient's body to a different electrode, the two electrodes are placed near each other with little intervening tissue. Under FIG. 3 is illustrated one possible type of electrode in the form of a ring which collars the tonsil. Once collared, an active essentially straight tipped electrode is brought in contact with the now grounded tonsil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,948 (Sole) is concerned with a method and instrument for performing extracapsular cataract surgery. The electrode wire portion contacting the eye is a closed loop tangentially supported by an elongated stem portion with a substantially right angular bend. The stem at an opposite end of the right angular bend is attached through an obtuse angular bend to a lower end of a handle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,082 (Grossi et al) reports an electrode for use with a urological endoscope. A stabilizer is provided which allows the electrode to be resiliently snapped onto the telescope. A U-shaped tungsten wire loop serves as the active end of the electrode. The loop has integral space parallel wire arms which extend upward toward the telescope.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,424 (Bitrolf) is concerned with a cutting instrument designed for endoscopic operation in the rectum. The described instrument solves the problem of switching between coagulation and resection electrode instruments. Quicker and safer operation is performed through a closed loop annular portion electrode tangentially held on a sectioning face of a part-spherical portion of an electrode.
None of the aforementioned art has addressed the problem of gingival surgery required in conjunction with dental implantations. Indeed, the aforementioned art has not even suggested the use of electro-surgical devices for operating on the gingiva. The very nature of the problem requires an instrument which guarantees that only the correct amount of gingiva is destroyed or removed, and conductive damage to tissue is negligible.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for operating on gingiva to remove or destroy the correct amount thereof pursuant to installing a dental post.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electro-surgical instrument of the correct shape and size for guaranteeing that only the correct amount of gingiva is destroyed or removed pursuant to a dental implantation.